MLK Celebration Welcome Messages
| Dr. W.W. Herenton - Memphis City Mayor "Memphis is proud to be the host city for this special weekend celebration to honor the life and accomplishments of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We welcome visitors and Memphians alike to the King Holiday celebration! Our great city of Memphis was the setting for the brightest and darkest moments of the civil rights era, and now has grown to become a center of equality and opportunity for all. We owe a great debt to the leaders of the civil rights movement for kicking down doors of discrimination, giving us access to the opportunities we enjoy today. On this King Holiday, we are remembering a great leader. The activities planned in Memphis this year to commemorate the King Holiday are more numerous than ever before. These events range from quiet marches, to exhibits and events at the National Civil Rights Museum, to a nationally televised Memphis Grizzlies basketball game and symposium commemorating African-American pioneers of the NBA. I invite you to share the lessons of Dr. King with your children. As President John F. Kennedy said in a speech in Dublin in 1963, "We need men who can dream of things that never were." Dr. King was one of these people. My hope is that he will inspire tomorrow's dreamers today. Celebrate Dr. King with me this week as we take this opportunity to Remember, Celebrate, and Act." |
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| David Stern, NBA Commissioner "I am delighted to represent the National Basketball Association and our member teams in welcoming you to Memphis for this historic weekend of activities commemorating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King's dream is coming true in many areas of American society. Certainly, our league would not be what it is today without Dr. King's dream and the men and women who cleared the lane for all of us. When the Grizzlies play the Portland Trailblazers in Memphis on January 20, 2003 those in attendance will have the opportunity to recognize some of the African American Pioneers of our game. The National Civil Rights Museum is an American treasure located in Memphis. We thank the museum for featuring a wonderful exhibit of photography and memorabilia commemorating African American Pioneers of the NBA and for co-hosting the "They Cleared the Lane" Symposium featuring pioneers like Bill Russell, Bob Lanier, Al Attles and Earl Lloyd. We hope you enjoy the varied events and activities commemorating the King Holiday." |
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